A resource companion to "Community-Owned Businesses: How Communities Become Entrepreneurs" (Main Street Now, April 2010).

Cooperatives

“A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise” (International Cooperative Alliance). Most co-ops are organized as non-profit corporations but, unlike typical non-profits, co-ops often distribute surplus revenues as “patronage dividends” to members. In a cooperative, each member has an equal vote.

Barrel's Community Market is organized as a non-profit by the Waterville, Maine, Main Street organization. Barrels Community Market buys and sells food, crafts, and tools that are produced locally and sustainably.

The Harvard Coop (usually pronounced "cupe"), selling textbooks and university apparel, was founded by students in 1882.

The New Deal Café in Greenbelt, MD, serves up Lebanese food, live entertainment, and art installations. The cooperatively-owned Café's business plan can also be accessed through its website.

Toscarora Organic Growers is a producers' cooperative which aggregates the produce of local growers in south-central Pennsylvania and then markets and distributes the produce to high-end restaurants in Washington, DC -- about 120 miles away. Larger examples of producer cooperatives include Sunkist and Ocean Spray.

The Community Land Use and Economics Group, LLC (CLUE Group)

We help local and state governments, developers, and nonprofits design innovative downtown economic development strategies, cultivate independent businesses, recycle historic buildings, attract young talent, strengthen downtown management programs, and craft planning and land use tools that mitigate sprawl and stimulate town center development.